Rockaway Buzzes With Baseball

By Shelley Plock

Thanks so much to all the coaches who have submitted game highlights, standings, and updates.

Van Zachary ended the regular season 10-1 in the Boys Major Division. In the last week of the season Van Zachary sandwiched wins over District 27 and Lichensteins around a loss to Daly’s Dodgers. The victory over District 27 was a great game and was reflected in the final score
of 2-1. Van Zachary scored first in their half of the third inning as Andy Spyliopulos drew a two-out walk and Alan MacSaveny drove him home with a double. Brendan Smith had been pitching well eight strikeouts and two base runners in the first three innings. However, in the fourth inning, after striking out the first batter, he walked the next batter and after recording the second out with another strikeout, Brendan gave up a double and then lost the strike zone and walked the next two batters forcing home the tying run. Mike Duemig came on in relief and faced a 3-0 count on the batter and the bases loaded but retired the batter two itches later to preserve the tie. In Van Zachary's half of the fourth inning, Brendan Smith led the inning off with a triple and AJ Arasin brought him home on a ground out. Keith Von Westernhagen made a nice catch in centerfield to end the game with the tying run on third base. Mike pitched well the remaining two innings and Van Zachary escaped with the win.

In the game against Daly's Dodgers, Van Zachary fell behind 2-0 in the second inning and could not mount a sustained attack until their final at bat. Entering their last at bat, Van Zachary was down 6-0 but as so often has happened this season the team came back with four runs, the key hit being AJ Arasin's two run double. Ryan McGrisken, who started, pitched well (seven strikeouts) in his four innings of work. The game was well played by both teams.

The final game of the regular season was a victory over Lichensteins and the offense started early with four runs in the first inning. Brendan Smith had a triple and home run and two walks to lead Van Zachary's offense. Mike Duemig and Andy Spyliopulos both reached base all four times at bat and scored four and three times, respectively. Jordan Mirrer contributed an RBI single in the fourth inning while Danny McGrisken did likewise in the first and fifth innings. Andrew Spadaro made a good defensive play in the last inning to retire a Lichensteins' batter.

Van Zachary remained undefeated (8-0) in the Boys Major Division by recording wins over ATP, Plaza King and the Beach Club twice. Van Zachary defeated ATP 5-4, scoring the winning run in the bottom of the sixth. Andy Spyliopulos doubled in the tying run in the third inning and in the fifth inning Andrew Spadaro doubled to drive in the third run and scored on a ground out by Andy which gave Van Zachary a 4-1 lead. ATP came back, and with two out and two runners on, an ATP player hit a three run homer. Mike Duemig led off the sixth for Van Zachary and promptly singled to center and went to third base on an error. After Brendan Smith got an infield single, Ryan McGrisken singled to centerfield for the winning run.

Van Zachary's offense started quick against Plaza King scoring nine runs in the first two innings, while Andy Spyliopulos was pitching well giving up only five runs in four innings. AJ Arasin was one of the bright spots in Van Zachary's offense as he had two hits, including a home run that cleared the centerfield fence in the fourth inning. Alan MacSaveny collected two hits and scored a run.

In the first game against The Beach Club, Van Zachary fell behind 4-0 after three innings on some poor fielding. Van Zachary came back with three runs in their half of the third inning and added three more in the fifth to make the final score 6-4. Brendan Smith was in control on the mound striking out 16 batters in six innings and giving up only one hit. Brendan also had two hits and scored two runs. Alan MacSaveny had three hits, including a double and a triple, and scored two runs. Danny McGrisken had the big blow a triple in the fifth to scored two runs and then he scored as his hit was misplayed.

In a wild offensive game Van Zachary defeated The Beach Club 22-11. Van Zachary jumped out to an early lead in the first inning by scoring seven runs. Alan MacSaveny pitched well in recording the win and added three hits and three runs scored. Brendan Smith reached base all five times with four hits and a hit by pitch and also scored four times. Jordan Mirrer had two hits a double and a triple and droves in three runs. Keith VonWesternhagen had two hits and scored twice. Kevin O'Brien contributed to the offense with three walks.

Mirkin gearing up for the big playoff run handled Esposito Chiropractic by the score of 15-2. The Stanley brothers, Matt and Mark, had big days. Mirkin is now 8-2.

This week One Stop Photo played its best defeating Belle Harbor Animal Clinic 16-12. One Stop Photo was led by Brian Doyle, Lauren Fiorentino, Joey Mazzrrelli and Robert Carter, who each had four hits, and Andrew Schultz, Matt Etelson and Zander McDonald-Smith with three hits and Dominick Fiorentino with two hits. There was also great defense from Matt Etelson, Andrew Schultz and Zander McDonald-Smith.